Kakashi's ninja way

The Water Arrow Technique had punched several holes in the boat, leaving it barely able to sail.

"His brain is completely destroyed. Even if we can collect the bounty, it'll be worth far less."

Zou Hyuga frowned as he looked at Suikazan Fuguki's body, its skull pierced by the Water Arrow Technique. His expression darkened.

He had deliberately let Kisame off the hook, only for Kisame to deal him a devastating blow, costing him intelligence worth over a million.

The feeling was hard to put into words. It was like swallowing a fly.

Although he had wanted to find an opportunity to destroy Fuguki's brain himself, Kisame would have to take the blame for this.

He would count it as a thirty-million loss. Until Kisame produced three hundred million in value, he wouldn't be allowed to die even if he wanted to.

Beneath the waves, Kisame Hoshigaki felt a chill run down his spine as he hid on the seabed.

Looking up at the surface, he waited quietly for the boat to leave.

He knew he was no match for the Konoha ANBU above. Even Lord Suikazan Fuguki had died at their hands, and that man from the Hyuga Branch Family was a nightmare he couldn't shake.

He had never imagined taijutsu could be so powerful. He had barely escaped by feigning death.

Even then, a violent chakra had invaded his body, one that even his unusual constitution couldn't neutralize.

Unable to dispel or assimilate it, Kisame could do nothing but leave it inside him and endure it in silence.

Not long after the boat left, Kisame cautiously returned to the island and found his superior's charred body.

After digging a pit and burying his superior, Kisame looked toward Kirigakure and began his journey back.

Although Lord Fuguki was dead, his teachings remained etched in Kisame's heart.

To prevent intelligence from leaking, when necessary, one could kill teammates who might be captured.

That was why he had launched that attack, even at the risk of his own life.

Performing hand seals diligently and safeguarding intelligence was Kisame Hoshigaki's ninja way.

Near the Coastal Town, the ANBU squad didn't linger after completing its mission.

After informing the local officials, they set off back toward the village.

The local officials weren't particularly happy to hear the news. As long as the Land of Fire and the Land of Water hadn't signed a peace treaty, similar incidents would keep happening. It was simply a question of whether they were worth the cost.

"Ninja way?"

That evening, Asuma brought up the term after returning early from hunting.

Zou Hyuga gave Asuma a few interested looks. Since when had this thick-browed, wide-eyed fellow started talking about a ninja way?

As he recalled, a ninja way was something like a set of beliefs and principles, mixed with one's understanding of what it meant to be a ninja.

"Right..." Asuma nodded, looking hopefully at the others. He had begun accepting them as comrades and wanted to know their ninja ways.

Zou Hyuga shook his head. "I don't have a ninja way. I just want to live, and live well."

He had never had a ninja way. His only dream was to live in peace, preferably in some corner of the world without ninja, if that were possible.

"I'm much the same." Oto Uchiha nodded in agreement. Her thoughts were largely the same.

"That's pretty plain..." Asuma found that rather dull. He scratched his head, only to realize he didn't have a ninja way he could truly put into words either, and fell silent.

It was the usually taciturn Kakashi who voiced his ninja way.

"Ninja who can't complete their missions are trash. But ninja who can't even protect their comrades are worse than trash..."

After Kakashi finished speaking, the ANBU squad fell quiet. Everyone had a past they didn't want to revisit; Kakashi's was simply heavier than most.

Still, the fact that Kakashi had willingly opened up was a good thing.

At least this ANBU squad wouldn't be wiped out for some inexplicable reason.

But with Kakashi brought up, Zou Hyuga couldn't help thinking of another name.

Obito Uchiha, the "war hero" who had died on the Land of Grass Battlefield. That fellow was a threat he couldn't ignore.

He had orchestrated the Nine-Tails' Rampage and sparked the Fourth Shinobi World War. He was ruthless through and through.

Still, someone that important probably wouldn't pay attention to a small fry like him.

As long as he could leave the ANBU squad after returning to Konoha-but however he looked at it, that didn't seem realistic.

That fellow Obito seemed to have a habit of following Kakashi around.

After a hot dinner, Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha took the night watch, climbing into the crown of a nearby tree.

Only after activating his Byakugan and scanning their surroundings did Zou Hyuga turn his gaze to Oto.

On a dark, windy night, a boy and a girl alone together always seemed to create a certain inexplicable atmosphere.

Looking at Oto Uchiha's loose, dark hair, Zou Hyuga couldn't help thinking about the future.

If events followed their current course, the village would suffer all sorts of unavoidable disasters. Under the Hyuga Clan's protection, he should be able to survive safely.

But the Uchiha Clan would face suspicion and ostracism, just as it had in history, until it was finally destroyed.

After a pause, Zou Hyuga looked at Oto Uchiha and asked, "Oto, if I told you the Uchiha and the village would clash in the future, would you believe me?"

"Of course." Oto Uchiha nodded lightly and glanced at Zou Hyuga. "Those arrogant fellows in the clan have already made everyone else in the village unhappy. Sooner or later, they'll cause a conflict."

As a member of the Uchiha Clan with three tomoe, Oto Uchiha knew her clansmen's temperaments well. Born into a prestigious clan, they always carried an inexplicable sense of superiority and pride.

Even she was no exception. During her time at the Ninja Academy, she had looked down on her civilian classmates.

Only after suffering too many setbacks in the Shinobi World War had she buried that pride in her heart and rarely shown it.

On the battlefield, arrogance didn't make anyone stronger. Instead, taunting the enemy could make them focus their attacks on you.

Zou Hyuga rubbed his forehead. Oto might have misunderstood him.

"I mean the village will target the Uchiha, perhaps even turn against them," Zou Hyuga said bluntly.

"How could that happen?"

Oto Uchiha glared at Zou Hyuga. "We Uchiha love the village more than anyone. Besides, with everything we've accomplished, what grounds would the village leadership have to target us? It was the Uchiha and your Hyuga who held the line against Kirigakure."

Zou Hyuga said nothing. The Hyuga and the Uchiha had indeed borne the brunt of the war against Kirigakure.

The two great ninja clans, along with one veteran genin, had held off nearly all of Kirigakure's attacks. Their achievements had even given the Uchiha the idea of putting forward a candidate for Hokage.

But compared with the Yellow Flash, those achievements paled into insignificance.

Dropping the subject, Zou Hyuga looked at Oto Uchiha and said, "Once we're back in the village, I'll have to trouble you with the experiments again. I've made some new progress in my research recently, and I need to verify it."

"You mean that shark-faced fellow you deliberately let escape?" Oto Uchiha gave him a sly smile.

Zou Hyuga nodded lightly. "His constitution is unusual. He can withstand my natural chakra. Perhaps I'll make some worthwhile discoveries through him."